Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday. It’s all about the food. I was up early to start the preparation. I wanted to start the pie crust, but I use the food processor, which would have woken Terry for sure. I dug the cranberries out of the freezer and put them in a saucepan with a cup of sugar and a bit of water to keep them from burning. I turned the heat on low and turned my attention to the mise en place for the pie crust.

I cooked the cranberries just until they popped and put them in a serving bowl to chill. Cranberries, check.

Cranberry sauce

Terry was up at 6:15. The pie crust was done and resting in the freezer by 6:45. After mixing the pumpkin (Well, okay, it was really butternut squash. No one was the wiser.) I took a breakfast break until it was time to roll the crust at 7:15. The pie was done by 8:30. Check.

Pumpkin pie

While the pie baked, I got the turkey ready. A week ago, I had started defrosting the third of the three turkeys we raised last year. This was the smallest of the three, weighing in at a mere 20.5 pounds. That should be enough to serve 5. I used the same recipe I used in September, which bakes the bird in a bag. To make a flavorful gravy, I put chopped carrots, celery, and onions in the roasting pan with chicken stock and wine. I put on my coat and went to the herb bed to get three sprigs of thyme. The chickens ran out to greet me, but I had forgotten the carrot peels.

I hung up my coat and put the thyme in the roasting dish. I read the recipe again. I put my coat back on and went to the herb bed to get one sprig of rosemary. I remembered to take the carrot peels for the girls. They were not so excited to see me a second time, but they came a-running when I called and threw their Thanksgiving treats in the run.

I hoped to get the turkey in the oven by 9:00. I was 20 minutes late. I made the stuffing next. Where had the morning gone? I had just enough time to exercise and take a shower before the turkey was done.

I had the same issue I had last time. The breast and legs were done before the thighs. I pulled it out of the oven, covered it with foil, and got to work on the gravy. Will I ever learn to read the recipe all the way through? Probably not. I had skimmed to find out how long the turkey had to cook, which was 3 ¼ hours. Now I noticed that it was supposed to rest for an hour. Lunch was supposed to be at 1:00. I had 15 minutes.

The last of the turkeys we raised

When Jane arrived, I put her to work stirring the gravy so I could carve the breast, wings, and legs. My plan was to put the back and thighs back on the rack in into the roasting pan to finish cooking. I forgot my plan and filled the roasting pan with soapy water. Then I remembered my plan. New plan: I will wash the roaster and then put the back in it to roast. It turned out that Terry offered to help and took on the washing of the roasting pan. I put the turkey in Hilda’s oven upstairs so we could keep an eye on it while we ate.

Lunch was late, but it was worth the wait. Hilda made mashed potatoes and a casserole of finely chopped broccoli and cauliflower with cheese and bread crumbs.

We took a break from eating to play 5 rounds of Mexican Train. Hilda made coffee. We ate the pie with freshly whipped cream. I floated some whipped cream in my coffee too. Hey, it’s Thanksgiving.

Jane left at 4:00 so she would only have to drive halfway in the dark. I picked the rest of the meat off the turkey carcass and put the bones in the slow cooker to simmer overnight. I washed the pans and serving tray and loaded up the dishwasher for the second time.

I am now comfortably in my chair, filled with the satisfaction that comes from taking uncooked food from the refrigerator, making it into delicious things to eat, eating too much, and putting the leftovers back in the refrigerator. A perfect day.